1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an electronic apparatus, a management server, a print system and a print control method, and more particularly, to an electronic apparatus to store print data to perform pull printing among a plurality of devices including an image forming apparatus and electronic apparatuses connected in a network, to perform printing, and a management server and a print control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatus generally refers such an apparatus that prints on a recording medium the print data created from a terminal apparatus such as a computer. For example, the image forming apparatus may be a copier, a printer, a facsimile or a multi function peripheral (MFP) which provides integrated services of those mentioned above.
A genera network printing method involves transmission of the print data created at an electronic apparatus of a user to a printing device connected in a network, so that the image forming apparatus performs printing in the order of arrival. However, following shortcomings are anticipated when a plurality of users share the image forming apparatus in the environment mentioned above.
First, when there are already several requests for print jobs by the other users, a user has to wait until the printing for the other users is finished. Further, the user may have difficulty of identifying his own printouts when the other users do not immediately get their printouts after printing. On the other hand, safety issue may also arise, as the printout of one user is exposed to the other users.
Accordingly, recent image forming apparatuses support pull printing, according to which print data transmitted by a user is preliminarily stored at a storage instead of being directly printed out. Then when a user authentication is processed at a specific image forming apparatus, a print job is performed based on the print data stored at the storage of the corresponding image forming apparatus.
Meanwhile, a storage server has been used as a storage for the pull printing, using an electronic apparatus or an image forming apparatus of a user, i.e., using one specific device. However, when one storage is used, service response can be delayed due to congestion of transmissions and receptions at the specific device. The printing job may not be performed smoothly, when the specific device has a fault. The availability of the print data is not ensured, considering the fact that the electronic apparatuses are not always in on state.